Abstract

Ensuring a safe, effective and empowering transition of young people with chronic illness and disability from paediatric care to adult health services is a key quality issue for the NHS.

To achieve this, three key elements must be pursued with vigour;

Firstly, a cultural shift in NHS staff attitudes and training; secondly, systems change to ensure that all paediatric chronic illness & disability services have effective transition programmes in place; and thirdly, empowerment and training of young patients to allow them to be an effective partner in their own transition.

Within paediatrics itself, transition is merely one part of a wider need to improve health care for adolescents.